Chapter 82

"Chapter 82: The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails"

After listening to the description of the photo shoot, it seemed like they were emphasizing my role as a producer. It had a mature and sexy vibe.

As expected, since I'm the oldest in the team, I should be the first to start the mature concept... But given my current state, I need to work out a bit. Hehe...

The other members were already taking a lot of photoshoots, so the Hae-sun fans were starting to hope for my photoshoot too. Anyway.

"…A solo photo shoot? Me? In a magazine?"

As I muttered to myself, Park Seon-jae appeared with snacks and said,

"Bro, you're always on TV, so is it surprising to be in a magazine?"

"It is. Well, anyway, my parents will be happy to see the real me in a magazine."

Park Seon-jae nodded at my words.

"Yeah, it's the real you. My grandma even cut out my photo shoot and stuck it on the wall."

I accepted the photo shoot because I thought my parents would like it.

After accepting, we got up to shoot the KQS YouTube content. Fortunately, Shin Ji-un arrived just in time, and we were able to finish the shoot together.

By the time we finished shooting, it was 2 AM. As we were about to leave with our goodbyes, the production team brought out a cake. We took a photo with the cake after saying our goodbyes. Fortunately, the shooting location was warm, so we all shared the cake.

On the way back to the dorm, I posted a photo of the cake on X Bus.

[Haewon: Birthday cake! I'm going to eat a lot of delicious things today because it's my birthday. Hae-sun fans, eat something delicious too and remember to wear a scarf because it's going to be really cold today.]

After posting, I started reading the comments. It seems that lately, the Hae-sun fans have formed a habit of responding to my nagging with 'I'll take care of it myself.'

[↳You take care of yourself!!!! Do you want to die young?]

[↳The cake looks as auspicious as Haewon. lolololol]

[↳You should post a list of what you ate to make us believe you.]

Of course, even in a place where fans are mainly present, there are occasional negative comments, but now I can overlook them. There are far more positive comments from fans.

While reading the comments, I saw a lot of messages saying they were grateful I was born. It made me feel really good.

[Haewon: Thank you for being born, Hae-sun fans.]

I posted this with the intention of replying to their messages. Strangely, talking only to fans like this doesn't make me nervous anymore.

* * *

The next few days were relatively relaxed.

On the last day of 2023, I went to buy alcohol with Hwang Saebi and the managers, wearing a hat. Hwang Saebi said,

"Let's buy makgeolli too."

"Isn't that too many types of alcohol?"

We bought soju, beer, vodka, and wine, and now we're adding makgeolli. Since Hwang Saebi takes food very seriously, it seems he wants to have a wide variety of drinks to match the dishes. Hwang Saebi said,

"We don't know what the kids will like. But, are you buying beer cans?"

"Ah, I think beer cans are the best."

"I still don't understand why people drink soju with beer."

"I don't know. I started drinking soju with beer during company dinners, and it gradually became more delicious."

Hwang Saebi said he would prepare the dishes himself, as he had a plan and a lot of ideas. Strangely, Hwang Saebi doesn't seem to expend any energy when cooking.

We returned to the dorm and started cooking before the new year.

"Saebi, how about this?"

"Wow, you fried it well."

We decided to have tteokbokki with broth, mixed fried dishes, and grilled meat on January 1st. I was in charge of the frying, and I think I have a talent for it. Or maybe it's just that Hwang Saebi is more lenient when cooking...

After cooking, it was almost midnight. I also bought various types of drinks for the youngest members. I told the youngest members,

"Brothers, when you get drunk, just leave me in the room."

Then Min Ji-ho raised his hand and asked,

"Can't we just leave you in the living room and go to our rooms?"

...That's reasonable?

"Sure, let's do that."

After answering, I sat in front of the table. We didn't pour drinks for each other; everyone chose and poured their own drinks. Everyone was more interested in the food than the drinks.

"The tteokbokki is insane. What is this?"

"The best tteokbokki I've had this year... Oh, it's the first tteokbokki of the year. Including last year, it's the best."

"Quick, praise the fried dishes too. I made them."

"The fried dishes are delicious too."

"You fried them beautifully."

We talked and ate, and then ate some more, and then ate even more.

After our stomachs started to feel full, the drinks began to run out. When I was a bit tipsy, I picked up a cigarette borrowed from Park Jung-un manager. We had agreed that I would smoke just one cigarette on January 1st.

"I'll be right back."

Since it was a no-smoking apartment and to sober up a bit, I went outside with Park Jung-un manager. It was snowing. The street was empty at this hour, with only a few people passing by.

I stood in an empty alley, put the cigarette in my mouth, and lit it.

With the warmth of the alcohol in my body, the only warmth I felt was on my lips in the sub-zero temperature, and my tension immediately eased. Smoking after half a year felt so good that I almost cursed. It was even better than I expected.

"Wow, what is this?"

Park Jung-un manager chuckled. As a smoker, he seemed to empathize with my feelings.

I took one puff and immediately put out the cigarette. Park Jung-un manager was shocked and asked,

"Why, what are you doing?"

"If I finish this, I won't be able to quit. I just don't want to smoke anymore."

Park Jung-un manager clicked his tongue.

"You're stubborn. Can you really put out a cigarette after just one puff after half a year?"

"Seems like I can."

It wasn't a matter of willpower. I think I have a tendency to get addicted too easily. I want to sing better. I want to write more songs. I want to have better stamina. I want to take better care of my skin.

I wanted to hear the fans say they were grateful I was born for a longer time. Thinking about that, it wasn't difficult to put out the cigarette right away.

Park Jung-un manager said,

"Go back inside first."

"Let me enjoy the snow a bit. I'll smoke slowly."

After saying that, I put my hands in my jacket pockets and looked up at the sky.

"I'm twenty-one now."

"That's great."

I chuckled at Park Jung-un manager's response.

When I returned to the dorm, the members were gradually getting tipsy. The youngest members were distracted by the funny antics of the older members.

On the contrary, the people who were sober were falling asleep and going to their rooms one by one, while the four of us who had turned twenty-one continued drinking.

I really hate drinking games, but since An Joo-won wanted to play, I had to. I kept losing and ended up drinking a lot. By the time I was completely drunk and started cleaning the table, I was confused whether this was a company dinner or a fun meal.

"Even when he's drunk, he still cleans up."

Hwang Saebi said, looking puzzled, and I replied,

"Because I always want to clean, but I'm usually suppressed. Look at this messy dorm..."

It wasn't dusty, but there were too many things, so they were scattered everywhere. Fortunately, we'll be moving soon.

While cleaning the table, I got up.

"Suddenly, I want to see the youngest members."

"Me too."

Hwang Saebi got up to follow me. Today, the youngest members were sleeping in the main room, so when I opened the door, Min Ji-ho, the room owner, was sleeping on the floor, and the other two were in the bed.

I was drunk, so I kept leaning my head and said, leaning against the door frame,

"Ah, my kids are so cute."

Shin Ji-un replied,

"Where are your kids here?"

"Your kids? You? You?"

Shin Ji-un immediately knelt down lightly.

"Ah, I thought you were An Joo-won because you were drunk."

"Your knees are so light... This is all because of An Joo-won's influence."

When I teased him, An Joo-won replied,

"Do you know the pain of being quick? When you get a year older, people say something, and when you get a year younger, they say you're acting young..."

Feeling sorry for him, I turned the conversation to Hwang Saebi.

"You should have cleaned up better."

"You should have done it. There was no one else."

"..."

Oops. Suddenly, I became the culprit.

Shin Ji-un added,

"You had a lot of time since you were in the room for two years, but you ignored all the calls."

While they were drunk, I was worried they might hit me, but the good-natured An Joo-won said,

"Anyway, you came out eventually."

"Yeah, you came out eventually."

When I said that, the members laughed a bit. This conversation will probably come up every time we drink. Ah, I'm already tired.

We returned to the living room, and in a more serious atmosphere, Shin Ji-un asked An Joo-won,

"Are you going to act?"

"…Isn't that a bit too direct?"

"What, is it hard to answer a simple question?"

"I don't know yet. It depends on the situation."

An Joo-won gave a vague answer and then asked Hwang Saebi,

"What about you?"

"Me? Spend months with strangers?"

"Ah, that's true."

At that, the four of us chuckled. We must have been drunk. Even something trivial was funny.

As we talked, Hwang Saebi muttered,

"Can we still be together in a year and a half?"

Shin Ji-un answered realistically,

"If we all make a lot of compromises, we can."

Hwang Saebi nodded and said,

"I'll do my best. I want to stay in the team no matter what."

If I were sober, I would never say something like that, so we were sure Hwang Saebi was drunk. He looked at me and said,

"But, if you give me good songs, I'll stay in First Light because of that, right?"

I replied,

"True, I can't give songs to traitors."

The members chuckled, and An Joo-won said,

"That's the scariest thing."

* * *

"…What did these brothers do last night?"

Park Seon-jae muttered, looking at the brothers sleeping in the living room and the papers scattered between them. Han Hyo-seok, who was looking at the same thing, said,

"I have no idea."

Among the papers filled with scribbles, only one was written in An Joo-won's neat handwriting.

[Death is the only fate for a traitor.]

Hwang Saebi, holding the paper, said,

"It's written in red. Scary..."

"Scary, but why did you stick it up?"

Han Hyo-seok, looking bewildered, stuck the paper next to the anti-drug poster. The three of them examined the papers. They could guess roughly what they talked about the previous night.

"But what's this? A curse?"

Park Seon-jae, holding a paper with 'I love you' written multiple times, said. An Joo-won, who woke up first, said,

"Oh, that. Saebi was drunk and kept saying he loved us, so I told him to write it down instead of saying it."

"Bro, you said you loved them? Really? I want to drink with Saebi bro too."

Park Seon-jae said, waking up Hwang Saebi, and Min Ji-ho excitedly asked,

"What about the other brothers' drinking habits? Didn't you take any photos?"

"Everyone was too drunk to take photos. Haewon habitually cleaned up and talked a lot. Ji-un reverted to his old personality, and I..."

An Joo-won was interrupted, and Shin Ji-un, buried in a blanket, said,

"Kept feeding me. He's a laughing lunatic."

After forcing himself to get up, he woke up the other two. Hwang Saebi didn't seem to have the will to get up, so we dragged him to his room. Jeong Haewon, cursing, got up and muttered while looking at An Joo-won,

"Damn, why is this kid fine…"

"He seems to have less hangover."

An Joo-won laughed, and Jeong Haewon threw a cushion. Then he suddenly lifted his head. He scrunched up his face and looked at the air, then asked the members,

"Is there any crisis that could happen now?"

"Since it's January 1st… a dating scandal?"

At Park Seon-jae's response, Jeong Haewon quickly checked his phone and relaxed when he saw no news.

"True, that's not a problem to overcome…"

Muttering, Jeong Haewon started getting ready to leave in case he needed to rush out. Then he stopped when he saw the anti-drug and anti-betrayal posters side by side.

"…Is this an idol dorm or a detective agency?"